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Social Change South Dakota State University Social Change Please note the following description of social change and social movements should not be considered a complete compilation of all theories/ideas or works related to this concept. This is merely an elementary review of some concepts found within the field of sociology. What is collective behavior? The question is asking why do groups of people react the way they do in specific situations. According to Sociologists Turner and Killian (1987) collective behavior is when people do something out of the ordinary and act in unexpected ways. Perhaps the most traditional answer to this question comes from Sociologist Neil Smelser who states “collective behavior involves a collective redefinition of an unstructured situation” (Smelser 1962: 23). So, collective behavior, from a sociological perspective, involves attempting to understand group behavior when situations are unstructured or when people act in what appears to be non-rational ways. Theories of Collective Behavior. There is some controversy over theories of collective behavior; however, three perspectives are often used to help understand collective behavior. 1. Emergent-Norm Perspective: This perspective is based on the works of Turner and Killian. This perspective espouses the idea “that new forms of proper behavior may emerge from a crown during an episode of collective behavior” (Schaefer 2001: 574). 2. Value-Added Perspective: This perspective is based on the works of Neil Smelser. Smelser believed that certain conditions or factors must be present before an action of collective behavior takes place. These factors are listed below: a. Structural Conduciveness b. Structural Strain c. Generalized Belief d. Precipitating Factor(s) e. Group Mobilization for Action f. Manner in which Social Control is Exercised 3. Assembling Perspective: This perspective in based on works of McPhail and Miller. This perspective looks at “how and why people move from different points in space to a common location” (Schaefer 2001: 574). This perspective distinguishes between periodic and non-periodic assemblies. Development of this review sheet was made possible by funding from the US Department of Education through South Dakota’s EveryTeacher Teacher Quality Enhancement grant. Forms of Collective Behavior. This concept looks at how people gather and under what conditions. Listed below are several examples of collective behavior. 1. Crowds 2. Disaster Behavior 3. Fads and Fashions 4. Panics and Crazes 5. Rumors 6. Publics and Public Opinion Social Movements: Social movements may incorporate many aspects of the above listed behaviors. “Sociologists use the term social movements to refer to organized collective activities to bring about or resist fundamental change in an existing group or society” (Schaefer 2001: 565). Social movements can be both conflict based for a society and/or functional to a society depending on the focus of the movement. According to Schaefer (2001), social movements usually fall into one of four categories: 1. Relative Deprivation 2. Resource Mobilization 3. Spillover Effects 4. New Social Movements Theorists generally associated with collective behavior and social movements include: Charles Mackay; Gustave LeBon; Robert Park; Herbert Blumer; Richard Berk; Ralph Turner and Lewis Killian; and Neil J. Smelser. Development of this review sheet was made possible by funding from the US Department of Education through South Dakota’s EveryTeacher Teacher Quality Enhancement grant. References: McPhail, Clark and David Miller. 1973. “The Assembling Process: A Theoretical and Empirical Examination”. American Sociological Review 38:721-735. Schaefer, Richard T. 2001. Sociology, 7th Edition. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Smelser, Neil J. 1962. Theory of Collective Behavior. New York: Free Press. Turner, Ralph and Lewis M. Killian. 1987. Collective Behavior, 3rd Edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Development of this review sheet was made possible by funding from the US Department of Education through South Dakota’s EveryTeacher Teacher Quality Enhancement grant. .
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